Investigation continues after body of Sebastian woman found | Video

Says Alfred Geary couldn't explain how his mother disappeared from their home.

Alfred Geary

Patricia Danna-Harrison

SEBASTIAN — When Patricia Danna-Harrison disappeared from her Sebastian home on Dec. 19, she had heart problems and needed a cane to walk.

But the day after her body washed up on a Jupiter beach in Palm Beach County, police still don't know who killed the 67-year-old woman or why.

On Sunday, an autopsy by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner confirmed the body found by beachgoers Saturday morning about 22 miles south of Stuart was that of Danna-Harrison.

Because the investigation is ongoing, Sebastian police Detective Todd Finnegan would only say at a news conference Sunday afternoon that she died of "nonspecific" injuries. After her death, she was wrapped in a green boat cover, tied up, weighted down with three small anchors and thrown into the ocean.

Finnegan said everything points to Danna-Harrison's son, Alfred Geary, 49, as the main suspect. Geary committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at their home on Dec. 29 as he faced further police questioning about her Dec. 19 disappearance.

Police, however, are continuing to investigate and examine the boat cover, ropes, anchors and items found with the body in an effort to determine if Geary is the sole person responsible or if there could have been an accomplice. Police would not disclose what items were found with the body.

Before his suicide, Geary only told police he was tired of taking care of her, the detective said. For 18 months he had been her live-in caretaker. She was on medication for several ailments and had undergone operations.

Yet she was doing better and, according to what police learned, the only time they argued was over her wanting more independence. But there was no indication of violence in their relationship, police said.

According to Finnegan, anyone who knew her medical history would have immediately reported her missing from her single family home.

But Geary didn't report her missing for two days and that was after he went to Stuart to work as a self-employed yacht detailer.

Then he failed a police lie detector test when questioned about her disappearance, police said.

Finnegan can't say how the 186-pound woman ended up in the ocean. Geary only had two canoes at the Carnation Drive home where he and his mother lived. His 20-foot fishing boat sank in August at the Sebastian Inlet, court records show.

But he could have had access to other boats as a yacht detailer, the detective said.

So far, police have not found anyone who saw him in a boat in the Stuart area soon after her disappearance from Sebastian.

The detective said he couldn't say how long the body had been in the water because it was wrapped and it had been in cool, salty ocean waters.

"It was in a moderate state of decomposition," Finnegan said.

Also living in the house was Geary's girlfriend, who police said doesn't appear to have had anything to do with the disappearance and murder.

Police quoted her as saying she was asleep all night when Danna-Harrison came home on Dec. 19. When the girlfriend woke in the morning, she asked Geary where his mother was, to which he replied she probably was out shopping with friends, police said.

Finnegan said the girlfriend also reported Danna-Harrison missing to police. The whole episode, according to the detective, has left her emotionally devastated.

Geary's girlfriend couldn't be reached for comment.

Geary told police he first noticed his mother missing when he woke up at 3 a.m., the night same came home, and didn't see her in her bedroom. He said he then went back to sleep.

Her last phone call, at 11 p.m., on Dec. 19, was to a friend and it was uneventful, the detective said.

"There is still a lot of information to be gathered," Finnegan said of his agency asking for bank and cellphone records.

Her brother, Richard Danna, of Rhode Island, declined to comment Sunday night. Finnegan said he "was in utter shock" upon hearing of his sister's death. He also was dismayed by Geary's death, which came two days after the two talked by phone.

Danna-Harrison's other child, also a son, died of suicide a decade ago, Finnegan said.

To her friends, Danna-Harrison was a good person who cared about others, police said.

Finnegan said Danna-Harrison didn't have financial problems despite the courts in October ordering that Family Private Care, of Hobe Sound, could seize $14,000 from her bank account to pay bills.

Days before his suicide, Geary filed a lawsuit against a Brevard County marine company over the sinking of his disabled 20-foot fishing boat at the Sebastian Inlet on Aug. 31.

Attorney Charles Sullivan Sr.'s law firm worked with both Geary and his mother.

"He was an upright, straight guy," the attorney said last week.

SEEKING THE PUBLIC'S HELP

The Sebastian Police Department request anyone with any information about the death of Patricia Danna-Harrison or who observed any suspicious activity involving her son, Alfred Geary, contact the Sebastian Police Department at 772-589-5233, ext. 8521 or by email at spd@cityofsebastian.org.

TIMELINE: PATRICIA DANNA-HARRISON MISSING

Dec. 19: Divorcee Patricia Danna-Harrison attends an evening holiday party at the Sebastian Community Center in northern Sebastian. Her last known phone call, to a friend, was at 11 p.m. The call was routine.

Dec. 20: Danna-Harrison's son, Alfred Geary, wakes at 3 a.m. and sees his mother is not in her bedroom in their home in western Sebastian, according to police. He goes back to sleep. His live-in girlfriend sleeps through the night and when she wakes in the morning, she asks him where Danna-Harrison is.

The girlfriend is told Danna-Harrison probably is out shopping, police said.

Geary goes to work in the Stuart area, where he details high-end yachts.

Dec. 21: Geary, after consulting with his attorney, tells police his mother is missing.

Dec. 26: Police issue an alert for Danna-Harrison, saying she is without her medications and could be endangered.